Kurt Angle On Roman Reigns: “That Poor Kid Got The Short End Of The Stick”

Kurt Angle thinks Roman Reigns has got a raw deal. 

The 2017 WWE Hall of Fame inductee spoke with Busted Open about Reigns, who has always been a controversial figure in WWE. Most recently, Reigns appeared in the number thirty slot of the Royal Rumble, the place a lot of fans assumed Angle would appear. Angle said he thinks Reigns is one of the best and the reason some fans do not accept him as a top guy is simple. 

“Yeah that poor kid, he got the short end of the stick. When it comes down to it, it’s really not his fault. I’m not discrediting the WWE, I think they’ve done a fabulous job of pushing this kid. But I think the fans like to see the 'going through the ringer'. US Title, Intercontinental Title, King Of The Ring, then the WWE Title. I think Roman kind of stepped up there right away and became the main eventer, main evented Wrestlemania literally a year after The Shield broke up. I think it was partly that, but you can’t deny his talent. The kid's great in the ring,” said Angle.

Angle says he believes in Reigns and he would make a comparison between Reigns and another wrestler who has been in the same situation.  

“He’s consistently been really good, whether the fans take to him or not he’s gonna be around. He’s gonna stick around and continue to be on top of the card. I think eventually the fans will accept him, I feel like it’s almost the same with John Cena when John started. John was a little green but he stepped up and took his bumps and his lumps. When I wrestled him it was his first time, his first match. You see him then, he still had a great match with me, but you see him now and it’s worlds apart. The kid improved every single year, and I can’t believe he’s been able to do this for 14 years,” said Angle. 

Reigns was eliminated from the Royal Rumble by the winner Randy Orton and has no clear opponent for Wrestlemania 33. During the interview, Angle would also talk about wanting to wrestle Reigns, his recovery from addiction, and wrestling on the independents.

The rest of the interview is available on Busted Open's Soundcloud.